Student composers’ concert to feature professional orchestra

The Harvard University Music Department will present a concert of competition-winning orchestral works by graduate students Ulrlich Kreppein, Hannah Lash, and Bert Van Herck Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. in Paine Hall. The works will be performed by a 45-piece professional orchestra and conducted by New York-based contemporary music specialist Jeffrey Milarsky.

Judging the compositions were Fanny P. Mason Professor of Music Composition Julian Anderson, Assistant Professor of Music Elliott Gyger, and John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities Joshua Fineberg.

“This sort of concert is unprecedented,” says Anderson. “I don’t know of any East Coast college that employs a professional orchestra to rehearse and play their composers’ pieces. I think it’s unique.”

Also unique is the opportunity to hear each work played twice, with composers’ comments in between. “We want to bring this work out of the contemporary-music ghetto into a more public arena,” Anderson says. “Why does this music sound like it does, what are the composers trying to say?”

The winning pieces, Kreppein’s “Paysage Noctuelle,” Lash’s “Leave,” and Van Herck’s “Nessuno Sentiv A,” will be performed under Milarsky’s direction by an impressive roster of Boston’s finest new music players. “We are lucky to have the services of one of the best conductors of 20th century music collaborating on this,” Anderson says. “It’s a great honor, really.”

John Knowles Paine Concert Hall is located directly behind the Science Center and is wheelchair-accessible. This first-ever composer’s orchestral concert is free and open to all. No tickets are required. Call (617) 495-2791 for more information.